Loan Terms Request: How to Make it Work for You

Question: How Do I Secure Loan Terms Without Giving Sensitive, Personal Information?

Is there a way for me to find out what my interest rate and closing costs would be without a hard inquiry on my credit report and providing documents with my sensitive personal information to multiple people?  

Whenever I call a lender or mortgage company they want to pull my credit with a hard inquiry along with providing a lot of personal information before answering my questions. It’s not that I have anything to hide; I simply want the best terms available and am uncomfortable providing personal documentation to multiple companies as I shop for my loan terms. 

Answer:

Yes and no as each bank, lender, credit union and mortgage company will have their own set of rules as to how they disclose terms. The best way to accommodate your request is to get proactive by providing the necessary information for a mortgage company to provide you terms. Kindly note the last part of the previous sentence, provide you terms as the information below will not qualify you for a loan, simply provide you the information you requested. 

1. Type of Transaction
   1. Is this for a Home Purchase
   2. No Cash Out Refinance
   3. Cash Out Refinance
2. Occupancy
   1. Is this for a home you will live in
   2. Is it an investment property
3. Loan Term
   1. Do you prefer a 10, 15, 20 or 30 year loan term and is that a
   2. Fixed interest rate or adjustable interest rate mortgage?
4. Credit Score
   1. What is it currently
   2. Where was that score obtained
5. Equity
   1. If purchasing,
6. What is purchase price
7. Amount of down payment as a percentage
8. If refinancing (no cash out or cash out),

  i.      How much is the current loan balance

                                            ii.      Current market value of the home

Once you have the above information, your next step is to call the mortgage lenders you have selected and ask to speak to a Senior Loan Officer. This will increase your chance of working with a more experienced Loan Officer and reduce the chance of getting stuck with someone new. Working with someone new isn’t a bad thing; it’s just better to work with people who have more experience.

Now that you and the Senior Loan Officer are on the phone, you want to say something along the lines of,

Hello, my name is _______ and I would like to know what interest rates and lender fees you offer for someone who is

a) Buying a home 

b) To live in 

c) For a 30 year fixed interest rate

d) With a 765 credit score that was recently obtained from Credit Karma

e) With a purchase price of $450,000 and 10% down.

Or if refinancing,

Hello, my name is _______ and I would like to know what interest rates and lender fees you offer for someone who is

a) Refinancing 

b) the home they live in 

c) For a 15 year fixed interest rate

d) With a 710 credit score that was recently obtained from my ______ credit card company

e) With a current loan balance of $245,000 and a market (appraised) value of $360,000.

If you have any lending questions for a new home to live in or for a new investment property, we invite you to think Blink. All of our clients have different needs and requests, and we are happy to match you up with a Houston Senior Loan Advisor to answer your questions or help you get approval on your new home loan.